National Assembly for
Wales
Health
and Social Care Committee
Follow-up inquiry on the contribution of community pharmacy to health services
Evidence from Hywel Dda University Health Board – CP 2
The National Assembly for Wales’ Health & Social Care Committee
Inquiry on the contribution of community pharmacy to health services
Follow-up inquiry on -
Evidence of progress in relation to the recommendations made in the 2012 Report, and where progress is still required.
Recommendation 1
The Committee recommends that the Welsh Government provides a clear national lead for the future development of community pharmacy services to ensure that the necessary policies and structures are in place to secure its delivery. This should include nationally agreed priorities for the service and a centrally driven direction for its development.
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Recommendation 2
The Committee recommends that the Welsh Government promotes further enhanced services with a national specification for community pharmacy, including a national Chronic Conditions Service, and follows the incremental model proposed for the introduction of the National Minor Ailments Scheme to ensure robust monitoring, evaluation and improvement of services. The Committee recommends that where there are clearly national health conditions, the service should be nationally specified, but that some continuing scope should be allowed for the volume and location of such services to be determined locally.
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Recommendation 3
The Committee recommends access by community pharmacists to summary patient records where patients are registered with a community pharmacy.
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Recommendation 4
The Committee recommends that the consistent participation of community pharmacies across Wales is secured for the next round of public health campaigns, whether national or local. Close monitoring of community pharmacy’s participation is required by Local Health Boards to ensure that those failing to deliver on their contractual obligations are called to account for their non-compliance.
Recommendation 5
The Committee recommends that the Welsh Government improves the communication mechanisms it uses to inform the general public about the services available at any individual community pharmacy. To this end, we recommend that the Welsh Government makes it an obligation for all community pharmacies to place a prominent notice in their premises identifying the range of services available in that pharmacy.
Recommendation 6
The Committee recommends that the Welsh Government should take the opportunity afforded by the recently announced national minor ailments scheme to consider changes to the way in which community pharmacies are remunerated, including a transition to capitation-based payments, underpinned by a patient registration system.
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Recommendation 7
The Committee recommends that the Welsh Government and Local Health Boards prioritise taking proactive action to address issues of cooperation and joint working between community pharmacist and GPs, both in rural and urban areas.